This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
A string of wellbore tubulars (e.g., pipe, casing, drillpipe, etc.) may weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds. Despite this significant weight, the tubular string must be carefully controlled as tubular segments are connected and the string is lowered into the wellbore and as tubular segments are disconnected and the tubular string is raised and removed from the wellbore. Fluidically (e.g., hydraulic and/or pneumatic) actuated tools, such as elevator slips and spider slips, are commonly used to make-up and run the tubular string into the wellbore and to break the tubular string and raise it from the wellbore. The elevator (e.g., string elevator) is carried by the traveling block and moves vertically relative to the spider which is mounted at the drill floor (e.g., rotary table). Fluidic (e.g., hydraulic and/or pneumatic) control equipment is provided to operate the slips in the elevator and/or in the spider. Examples of fluidically actuated slip assemblies (e.g., elevator slip assemblies and spider slip assemblies) and controls are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,768 which is incorporated herein by reference; and U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2009/0056930 and 2009/0057032 of which this application is a continuation-in-part.
The tubular string is typically constructed of tubular segments which are connected by threading together. Traditionally, the top segment (e.g., add-on tubular) relative to the wellbore is stabbed into a box end connection of the tubular string which is supported in the wellbore by the spider. It is noted that the pin and box end may be unitary portions of the tubular segments (e.g., drillpipe) or may be provided by a connector (e.g., casing) which is commonly connected to one end of each tubular prior to running operations. In many operations, the threaded connection is then made-up or broken utilizing tools such as spinners, tongs and wrenches. One style of devices for making and breaking wellbore tubular strings includes a frame that supports up to three power wrenches and a power spinner each aligned vertically with respect to each other. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,259 which is incorporated herein by reference. Examples of some internal grip tubular running devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,309,002 and 6,431,626, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The tubular segments may be transported to and from the rig floor and alignment with the wellbore by various means including without limitation, cables and drawworks, pipe racking devices, and single joint manipulators. An example of a single joint manipulator arm (e.g., elevator) is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2008/0060818, which is incorporated herein by reference. The disclosed manipulator is mounted to a sub positioned between the top drive and the tubular running device. A sub mounted manipulator (e.g., single arm, double arm, etc.) may be utilized with the device of the present disclosure.
It may be desired to fill (e.g., fill-up and/or circulate) the tubular string with a fluid (e.g., drilling fluid, mud) in particular when running the tubular string into the wellbore. In some operations it may be desired to perform cementing operations when running tubular strings, in particular casing strings. Examples of some fill-up devices and cementing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,096,948; 6,595,288; 6,279,654; 5,918,673 and 5,735,348, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Tubular strings are often tapered, meaning that the outside diameter (OD) of the tubular segments differ along the length of the tubular string, e.g., have at least one outside diameter transition. Generally the larger diameter tubular sections are placed at the top of the wellbore and the smaller size at the bottom of the wellbore, although a tubular string may include transitions having the larger OD section positioned below the smaller OD section. Running tapered tubular strings typically requires that specifically sized pipe-handling tools (e.g., elevators, spiders, tongs, etc.) must be available on-site for each tubular pipe size. In some cases, the tubular, in particular casing, may have a relatively thin wall that can be crushed if excess force is applied further complicating the process of running tubular strings.
It is a desire, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, to provide a method and device for running a tapered tubular string into and/or out of a wellbore. It is a further desire, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, to provide a method and device that facilitates filling a tubular string with fluid during a tubular running operation.